Art on a free brink

The art agency frontofbicycle, together with Gallery Katapult, is promoting artists that want to break onto the scene with an exhibition.

Ernest Hemingway used to fast briefly before attending exhibitions of art – his reason being that an empty stomach equated to clarity of mind and thus a deeper appreciation of the paintings. He was especially fond of the work of emergent artists within the bohemian community of 1920s Paris, and the charitable exhibitions which promoted their work. Perhaps he identified with some of these artists: trying to create their own style against the imposing backcloth of modernism, while he wrestled with the task of creating his own prose-style.

The concept of not-for-profit art and culture has grown since those small exhibitions in Paris; today there are the huge exhibitions and galleries all over the world, which represent the promotion of art for free, or at cost at most.

Now a group of people are doing a similar thing as the small exhibitions of Hemingway’s days in Paris. They are representatives of a Basel-based art agency called frontofbicycle, which is, in modern parlance, a not-for-profit organisation. As well as supporting and promoting artists wishing to break into the Basel art scene, the frontofbicycle team aims to produce fresh and exciting exhibitions. frontofbicycle’s previous exhibitions were warmly received by the art community here in Basel, and the next one starts on the 24 April, running through to 26 April.

Galerie Katapult (www.galeriekatapult.ch) will be providing the venue for this exhibition. The gallery is a platform for national and international contemporary artists, and it is actively involved in the development of young artists in particular. frontofbicycle’s, will be a group exhibition, but Galerie Katapult stages single exhibitions, too, providing a simple interior for displaying art.

The upcoming frontofbiycle exhibition promises an eclectic collection of art, in a number of mediums, and a dazzling blend of international and contemporary work will be provided by 15 or so artists living in the Basel area.